Former Luftwaffe Pilot Believes He Shot Down Antoine de Saint Exupery

Posted on March 17, 2008

A former aviator in the Luftwaffe during World War II believes -- to his horror -- that he is the pilot who shot down Antoine de Saint Exupery. Saint Exupery is best known to American readers as the author of the classic story about the prince who fell to earth, Le Petit Prince aka The Little Prince.

The aviation pioneer's Lockheed Lightning P-38 disappeared July 31, 1944. In a forthcoming book, former Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert says he believes that he shot down the plane - although he is not completely sure. Le Figaro magazine published extracts of the book, "Saint-Exupery, the ultimate secret," this weekend. "I shot down Exupery," the magazine quoted Rippert as saying.
But the former Messerschmitt pilot also added: "I didn't see the pilot, and it would have been impossible for me to know that it was Exupery. I hoped, and I still hope, that it wasn't him." Saint-Exupery was 44. A scuba diver since found the wreckage of his plane on the Mediterranean seabed, offshore between Marseille and Cassis.
He has become one of France's most admired figures, in part because of "The Little Prince," a tender fable about a prince from an asteroid who explores the planets and then falls to earth. Saint-Exupery's other works, which largely deal with his aviation experiences, include "Wind, Sand and Stars" and "Flight to Arras," about a doomed reconnaissance mission.
The German pilot, Rippert, says in the book that he was a fan of the author's works. "In our youth, at school, we had all read him. We loved his books," he said. "If I had known, I would not have opened fire. Not on him!"

What a terrible burden to bear for Herr Rippert. To have shot down a beloved author (even though it was war time and it was his job) is an awful thing.